Page 56 of Brazen

He was mine.

All my original thoughts of him as only a pretty face and a cocky player were gone.

Oh, he was a pretty face, and he had a gorgeous body and knew exactly what to do with it, but he was so much more. A little bit at a time, he was showing it to me.

Or, was I slowly letting him in enough for me to see it?

Either way, I liked what I saw.

How I felt when I was with him.

Knowing he was a wolf rearranged everything in my mind about him, too. He wasn’t just a young rodeo star. He was strong, capable. His confidence was justified. He had a pack. He knew things I didn’t.

Maybe on some biological level, the cave-woman part of my brain suddenly recalibrated to believe he’d be a good protector / provider.

The trail straightened out at an open meadow. JT took off running at lightning speed–way faster than a normal kid should be able to–then pulled up and spun around to face me. He gave me his “uh-oh” look when he realized he’d done something wrong.

I stopped and Sam stood beside me. “He’s not supposed to run that fast in front of others,” I murmured to Sam to explain.

“Ah. I see.”

“Sorry, Mommy.” He glanced up at Sam. “I forgot.”

“Boy, you sure are fast,” Sam probably noticed the opportunity to talk to JT. “Real fast.”

JT put one foot forward like he was at a starting line. He’d shucked his shirt when Sam had, mimicking him by tucking it in the back of his jeans, so it dangled out like a little tail. Unlike them, I was still in my sweatshirt. “Running is fun.”

Sam glanced at me. I could read his look. He wanted to offer to help here in a way I knew I couldn’t. I was tired of JT having to hide how amazing he was. If there was a time and place for a Wolf Lesson 101, it was out here in the wilderness. It seemed Sam agreed.

I nodded, and Sam grinned.

“I’m fast, too. Wanna see?” Sam asked JT.

JT nodded, his dark hair flopping over his forehead. Then his hands went to his hips.

Sam took off jogging, then once he got to the clearing, took off running. Then…. RUNNING. He was across the clearing so fast he’d been a blur.

“Wooooooooow.” JT’s mouth fell wide open. He cocked his little head to the side. “Can I, Mommy?”

I frowned. “Can you, what?”

“Sam asked if I could show him how fast I can run.”

“He did? When?”

He shrugged his tiny shoulders. “Just now.”

I glanced across the field. Sam waved. He must’ve said something that JT could hear, but I couldn’t.

Warmth filled my chest. Finally, JT had what he needed–an adult who understood what was going on with him. Who knew what to say about it–knew the rules he had to follow to stay safe.

I smiled down at my little wolf-boy. “Then go for it. I want to see, too.”

He screwed on his determined face and set off toward Sam. My little guy zipped across the meadow. When he got to Sam, Sam crouched down and gave him a high five. They talked for a few moments, then lined up side-by-side and took off, running back together. It was clear Sam was going slow, so JT could beat him. I tried not to melt.

When they stopped in front of me, they were both pink cheeked and smiling. And not at all winded.

The jerks. I had huffed and puffed over the boulder in the trail.